Posted on 12/06/2013 12:16:02 PM PST by airedale
I have some question about the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare:
1. What does the drug formulary cover and are there drug tiers ( from really cheap to expensive brand name. I switched to Medicare when I turned 65 and stayed with Kaiser. The only real difference I can tell is with the drug formulary. Medicare’s is much smaller and more restricted. If they aren’t on the formulary you have to pay full price. I didn’t have any mediations that were not on the new formulary, but I don’t have diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s or AIDS for example. I don’t know what the Medicaid formulary looks like or the ObamaCare formularies’ look like. Are they substantially more restrictive than what had been provided in the past? If they are people who need those drugs are in for a big surprise.
2. Since most of the plans have large deductibles (Bronze plan in California has a $5,000 per person deductible before the co-pays kick in) what rates do the doctors and hospitals get to charge. Anything they want? A set government price list? Do they charge the price they have contracted with the insurance company to be reimbursed when the deductibles are met? With the limited supply of high quality doctors and hospitals taking Medicaid and reports of the similar conditions for ObamaCare it is open to price gouging.
3. Does Medicaid have a deductible like the Bronze and Silver Plans? If not if your income goes over the threshold of Medicare eligibility while you may still get a subsidy so the price is very low the deductibles will be a major hit to your disposable income. It’s a real incentive to keep your income below that threshold. This is punishing success. This is in addition to the penalty when your income goes above the subsidy thresholds. It’s almost like the authors and the supporters of this bill want to keep people in poverty.
4. What can a doctor/hospital do if a person refuses to pay the amounts they owe for the deductibles? Can they refuse to treat them? Drop them as a patient? Or does the law require and their contracts force them to continue to treat them? In the past the doctor could sue them and refuse to continue to provide services. If they can’t refuse or drop them aren’t they being forced into involuntary servitude?
5. The President has allowed Congress staff and others to receive subsidies which are specifically excluded by the act. The problem they are having in fighting this is no one apparently has standing. These subsidies are paid with taxpayers dollars so aren’t all taxpayers being harmed by this illegal act? Don’t all the taxpayers as a group have standing even though as a taxpayer our share of this illegal subsidy is very small. Doesn’t this same argument apply to any other waiver or illegal change in the law such as the reinsurance fee waiver for Unions? I know federal class action suits are more difficult to file now, but if this gives valid standing a single individual/company should be enough.
If you read the sentence that’s obviously a typo, but I can see why you got confused.
Hoax. That’s been around since October 1.
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